Plugins

All nodes come from plugins. The built-in nodes (gView.Pipe.Plugins.dll) are always part of the app. Two further plugins are separate, because they bring their own dependencies or can run code:

Plugin	Nodes	Why separate
gView.Pipe.Plugins.Database	SQL	SQL Server, PostgreSQL and SQLite drivers.
gView.Pipe.Plugins.Office	none; adds the format Excel to Extract from File and Convert to File	The Excel library (MiniExcel).
gView.Pipe.Plugins.Scripts	Run Script, Run Scripts Folder, Run Scripts Repo	Runs scripts on the server. Not installing it means no script execution.

The ZIP and the Docker image contain both. Remove a plugin folder to switch it off.

Folder layout

Each plugin has its own folder below Pipe:PluginPath (default plugins). The main DLL must have the name of the folder:

pipe\
  plugins\
    gView.Pipe.Plugins.Database\
      gView.Pipe.Plugins.Database.dll
      (its dependencies)
    gView.Pipe.Plugins.Scripts\
      gView.Pipe.Plugins.Scripts.dll

A plugin is loaded into its own assembly context, so its dependencies don't clash with those of the app. Restart the app after adding or removing a plugin.

Third-party plugins

Copy the plugin folder into plugins\. Only install plugins from sources you trust: a plugin runs with the rights of the app and can do anything the app can do. How to write one is described in the Developer Guide.

Workflows that use a missing plugin

The workflow still opens and the node keeps its settings, but running it fails at that node with Unknown node type … Is the plugin installed?. Install the plugin and the workflow works again.